Different kind of Apple Polisher
by Gerkyhen
Summary: "Though I can't promise you won't find me shagging some other teacher in a storage cupboard at some point this year." After one too many bad experiences with boys her age, Ino Yamanaka decides to take her love life into her own hands. A mature man is a definite, but where can Ino find one if not at college? This might be fun...if a little illegal. AU. Romcom. Ino's Pov. Hiatus.
1. Enter: Ino Yamanaka!

Different kind of Apple Polisher

* * *

_Decisions, unwise or otherwise, are made regarding my love life._

* * *

Chapter 1

**Enter: Ino Yamanaka!**

* * *

"No, I am done. I'm fucking done!" I storm out of the club in a rage, my heels tapping loudly against the wet tarmac of the street as I head straight towards a taxi.

"Ino!"

"Ino, come back!"

Kiba and Sakura come rushing out of the club quickly after, but I don't turn around. Sakura manages to catch up with me and once she's next to me I huff.

"I'm sad Forehead."

"I kno-" Sakura's consoling reply is cut off by Kiba, who is still across the street.

"Ino!" He yells, a drunken slur to his tone.

Sakura turns to him and graces him with a few imaginative swear words before turning back to me. You see, Kiba and I we'd been, well I **thought **we'd been, sorta together. Like, we'd been flirting for months now and tonight was the night I'd been planning on making my move, but mere moments ago I just found the stupid dog humping bastard playing tongue wars with some cow in the club. Clearly Kiba knew he was in the wrong, which was why he was now swaying on the sidewalk, staring at me soulfully. I'm not sad, I'm just angry.

"I want food and more drink." I say decisively.

Sakura nods in acknowledgement and then taps on the taxi window.

"Where to?" The man in the taxi enquires, rolling down his window and leaning out to look at us.

Sakura gives her address and then we both clamber into the car. I throw myself dramatically in and then flail slightly.

"I wasn't imagining it right Saks?" I moan, turning to give her a pout. "Kiba had definitely been implying he wanted to be with me?"

Sakura nods her head defiantly as the taxi begins moving off. "Yes Ino, definitely."

"Urgh, what a…what a…" I search for the word as I smack my face against the cold window.

At the sound of my forehead banging against the glass, the taxi driver gives me a look. I send a snarl back at him.

"I'm not going to break your taxi," I hiss. I turn to look at Sakura again. "He's such a stupid little boy." I grumble.

"Who? The taxi driver?" Sakura questions, looking bewildered.

The taxi driver throws me a slightly hurt look and I roll my eyes.

"No," I groan. "Not **him**. **Kiba**! Why do all the boys at our college suck?" I slump into a reverie.

"Not **all **the boys at college suck." Sakura replies.

I turn to glare at her. "You can say that because you've got a fabulously hot boyfriend!" I jab her in the ribs quickly. "But not me. You've managed to snap up the only mature boy in the whole of the college. I'm going to be forever lonely. Like a lonely little cloud."

Sakura laughs. "Good to see Mr Hatake's lessons are getting through to you." She comments.

I grin in response. "…yeah," I pause for a moment and an idea formulates in my mind. "Hmm…Mr Hatake-"

Sakura yelps as she quickly realises where my mind is drifting. "Oh Ino, no!" She screeches. "He's our English teacher **and **our self-defence teacher. Plus he's a…a…**teacher**."

The taxi driver nods through this. "Bad idea." He comments.

I throw a glare his way before turning the glare on my best friend. "I know that!" I yelp back. "I wasn't suggesting anything…God Forehead, cool your jets."

Sakura pouts at me. "Knowing you, you were being completely serious," she returns. "I know what you're like."

_Dammit and she does too. _I plaster a grin onto my face as we pull up outside her house.

"I won't go after Mr Hatake, Sakura," I say solemnly as my hand goes to the door handle. "Though I can't promise you won't find me shagging some **other **teacher in a storage cupboard at some point this year."

Sakura lets out a shriek of disgust and I jump out of the taxi chuckling.

"Ino, you're so gross!" She yelps after me as I walk towards her house. "And you better give me the money for this taxi ride! It cost loads!"

"Maybe I'll get some more mature friends while I'm at it as well." I mutter.

"You're the least mature person I know!" Sakura retorts. "And don't ring the doorbell; my parents won't be u-"

I ring the doorbell and turn a pretty smile on Sakura. _Yes. Tonight is the night I start the rest of my life. No more little boys._

* * *

"Ino, Kiba wants to talk to you."

"Well if he wants to talk to me, he can come and tell me so. We're not in primary school anymore."

"He says he's scared you'll slap him if he comes over."

"A possibility."

"Will you slap me?"

"Another possibility."

Naruto draws back as I say this, his big blue eyes wide with fear as he regards me from over the common room table.

"I don't like you when you're angry." He comments.

"Blame your stupid friend then," I return, my eyes not moving from the magazine I'm reading.

I came into college early this morning which means Sakura isn't here yet. For some reason, stupid Kiba and stupid Naruto **are **here, which just sucks massively. I'm sure somebody up in the sky has a problem with me. Maybe I'm too hot? In all honesty, I don't mind Naruto. I love the guy. But he **is **stupid as hell, and I know that on a very personal level as I used to date him. I realise the boy has not taken his eyes off me, so I finally raise my own to look at him.

"What do you want Naruto?" I sigh.

Naruto pouts. "You two to make up." He mutters.

"Not happening," I reply and then I flick my fingers at him vaguely. "Be gone."

Naruto gives me a sad, longing, look and then slopes away, over to Kiba. Kiba, who is currently pretending not to be watching me, but so definitely is as he has cut two eye holes in the magazine he's 'reading' and is staring through them. When Naruto comes back over to him, the two talk for a few moments and then Kiba slumps down looking very disgruntled. I'd almost feel sorry for him if I wasn't aware he'd got some tongue/tonsil action on the weekend.

There's a few minutes of silence and then Kiba slowly rises to his feet. I flick a glance his way and mentally berate myself, because now I've put myself on the back foot. The dude really is very attractive. He's all tanned and lean with cute spiky brown hair and an adorable grin. _No. Stop it Ino. He's a little boy. _I forcibly drag my eyes away from him and then, very deliberately, turn a page of my magazine, making sure it crackles loudly as I do so. Kiba takes his time coming over to me, but his arrival is announced by a scent of aftershave. He leans over me, looking at my magazine.

"Ways to pleasure yourself when that special guy is away," he reads the article title and then looks at me with raised eyebrows. "Interesting."

_Oh good God. Why? I'm trying to appear aloof and over him and now he's caught me reading an article about masturbation! _I scream inwardly in my head and my cheeks colour a deep pink, but I don't turn the page over. Instead, I fix him with an icy glare.

"What do you want?" I question seriously.

"I came over to see how you were." He replies and then he grins.

I narrow my eyes at him. So he hasn't come over to apologise then? Maybe being angry at Kiba is going to be easier than I thought.

"I **was **just dandy," I return. "But now some creepy dude is hanging around me, clogging up my air with jackassness."

Kiba's face drops. "Oh come on Ino," he moans. "You're not still mad about Saturday are you?"

"I'm not a goldfish Kiba," I return plaintively. "I don't just forget things that happened after a few minutes."

Kiba, who had been looking very confused by the first part of my sentence, pouts at this.

"I'm not expecting you to!" He says. "But can't we move past it?"

"I have moved past it." I return smoothly. _Ooh, goddamn I'm good. _I mentally high five myself and then go back to perusing the masturbation article.

Kiba slouches away, out of the room, and Naruto jumps up to join me at my table.

"What even happened the other night?" He requested. "I don't like it when you or Sakura are mad at people…it makes you all mean."

I bare my teeth at him. "I'm always mean," I return. "And why weren't you out anyway? I swear I remember Sakura saying she invited you."

"Uh, she did," Naruto rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly and then shrugged. "But I was onto a winning streak on Mario Kart and I wanted to see if I could make a world record,"

I stare at him for a few minutes, wondering whether I should question this information, but then I drop it. After knowing Naruto for almost 14 years, I know when not to ask any questions.

"What're you reading?" The blond leans in close to see, but I snap the magazine shut, just as Sasuke and Sakura enter the common room.

Sakura and Sasuke have been going out since forever. It kinda sucks being Sakura's friend at times because not only is she gorgeous, clever and nice, but she's also got the hottest boyfriend of all time. Sasuke looks down at Naruto and I now, his eyes expressionless while Sakura greets us and seats herself next to me.

"Hiya guys," she smiles.

Sasuke sits too and Naruto immediately begins regaling him with his story about Mario Kart. Sakura cocks her head at me in the meantime.

"Have you seen Kiba yet?" She enquires as her boyfriend slowly begins one-upping Naruto in the background, informing the now crestfallen looking boy that he has a better winning streak than him.

"Mmhmm," I reply, trying to look casual. "Told him where to shove it too."

Sakura looks surprised. "What, really?"

I raise an eyebrow in response. "Yes. Remember Sakura, I said I was done with little boys."

"You were being **serious**?" The girl checks. "I thought it was just drunken rambling! Like the time you said you were going to learn to play the drums and join an angry girl band."

_Ah yes. All I wanted to do was have album covers with me glaring at the camera while lolling casually upon a dirty couch. Two hot -angry- chicks with me…_I snap out of my daydream and shoot a (angry girl band standard) glare at my best friend.

"Hey!" I retort. "I meant it! And when I come up with an ultimatum, I stick to it!"

Naruto, Sakura and even Sasuke look at me with sceptical expressions. I let out an indignant yelp.

"Thanks for the support guys!" I growl, getting to my feet. "Now if you don't mind, I'm heading down to the cafeteria to get some breakfast!"

Sakura jumps up too and links arms with me as I begin trying to storm off. Due to her dead weight I cannot complete my huffy strut away, so I slow down, dragging my heels as I shoot a pout at her.

"I'm behind you a hundred per cent Ino," she tells me as we leave the common room and push through double doors leading into a corridor. Large windows frame this area, allowing us to see it's still raining; bulbous raindrops slipping lazily down the glass as the accompanying sound of their falling brothers and sisters beat out a tune against the metal roof of the cafeteria below. "But I do hope you were kidding about the whole 'teacher' aspect of it."

Our shoes clack loudly in the silence of the dark corridor. This early in the morning, college is all but empty. I wouldn't be surprised if we were in before the teachers. Especially Mr. Hatake who seems to forget he has lessons to teach at times, if his penchant for showing up half an hour late to his own classes mean anything. I roll my eyes at my best friend's griping.

"Nothing's going to happen Saks," I assure her. "I just want to make Kiba realise what he's missing out on is all, and if I need a hot older male to do that, then…so be it."

Sakura shoves me hard and I nearly fall, only keeping upright due to the fact the pink haired girl's arm is interlocked with my own. I huff angrily as I recover.

"I swear Pig, if you end up making Mr. Hatake lose his job-"

"**Fine**," I blaze through her, tossing my hair back in annoyance. "I won't go after your precious Mr. Hatake!"

As we begin descending a set of stairs, Sakura looks thoughtful.

"Who will you go for then?" She asks. "Mr. Hatake's the only hot teacher we have."

I go quiet and think about it. Mr. Hatake is our English and self-defence teacher and he is very attractive. Then I have Mr. Gai for Drama and he isn't…uh…quite as attractive. Then I have Miss Yuhi for Physical Education and she's a very pretty lady, but sadly I don't swing that way. I let out a sigh.

"Thank you Sakura," I grouch. "For destroying any hope I had. I guess I'll just die alone then."

Sakura nudges me and rolls her eyes. "College isn't the be all and end all. And you could still meet a nice guy our age! This college is full of people we don't know!"

My bottom lip juts out and I shrug unenthusiastically. "Yeah…" I return. "…Maybe."

"Oh come on Ino!" Sakura looks at me for a few minutes, her brow creased and then she unlinks herself from me and claps her hands together. "I know what will cheer you up; a bacon sandwich on me!"

I stay quiet for a few moments, looking at the floor and then I glance up. "With extra sauce?" I murmur pitifully.

"With extra anything you want!" Sakura replies brightly and then she drags me into the cafeteria.

* * *

The rest of the college day goes by in the incredibly boring fashion it is prone to. I searched vainly the whole way through, but alas, it truly seems that Mr. Hatake may be the only attractive teacher in the whole school.

"You're over exaggerating," Tenten, my friend in the year above, tells me once I tell her these thoughts.

Tenten, Sakura and I are heading to our self-defence classes, which are held after college ends.

"There are definitely other good looking teachers in this school."

"Don't **encourage **her." Sakura yelps, shooting me a worried look.

I ignore my -constantly- fretting best friend, and keep my attention on Tenten as we enter the gym hall. We seat ourselves as we get ready for the long wait Mr. Hatake is indubitably going to gift us with. _I swear, that man better not ever give someone a detention for being late because he has literally never been on time throughout my whole college life._

"Well where **are** they?" I press Tenten as I begin tying my long hair up into a bun. "Because as far as I am aware, Mr. Hatake seems to be the only one around."

"The only what around?"

My friends and I turn to see Naruto grinning at us, looking mighty interested in the conversation. _Back off bonehead. _I narrow my eyes at him.

"You just hush." I retort.

"I'm pretty sure I heard you saying you want to find a good looking teacher." Neji arrives now, coming to sit next to Tenten.

"You heard correctly." Tenten confirms.

I gift her with a horrified look. _Why? _

"A **teacher**?" Naruto repeats, looking very confused.

"What?" Kiba jumps in now and I steadfastly turn my head.

_As if that bozo deserves my attention…even if he does have perfectly tousled hair right now. _

"**Good looking**?" Naruto itches his cheek, his head cocked.

"Mr. Gai is a good looking man!"

_Oh great. _Rock Lee joins the conversation now, gifting Sakura with a wink as he does so. This is the only class Rock Lee can get away with flirting with Sakura in, as Sasuke goes to his own private self-defence lessons. Sakura rolls her eyes at him.

"What?" Kiba says again, his eyes fixated on me.

"Good looking or not, a teacher should always be a no go zone." Sakura announces, looking very self-important.

"I completely agree Sakura!" Rock Lee agrees enthusiastically.

"A **good looking **teacher?" Naruto shakes his head. "Why would a teacher have to be good looking? What dya need one of those for?"

"Because I want to fuck someone who isn't a complete **kid**!" I screech, suddenly silencing everyone.

My peers gaze at me in shock, even the usually unflappable Neji looks a little flapped. I don't look at anyone, keeping my eyes forward.

"Well then,"

_Shit_. I stiffen as Mr. Hatake's voice rings out from behind us.

"I'm not completely sure what that has to do with self-defence, but I suppose it's good to know."

I go a deep red and refuse to turn around. Thankfully, Naruto distracts Mr. Hatake as he leaps up and points an accusing finger at him.

"You're late again!" He declares.

Sakura nods from her position on the ground. "Mr. Hatake you did promise you wouldn't be late this time round." She reminds him.

Mr. Hatake comes round to the front, gifting Sakura with a smile. "I'm sorry Sakura, you're right. But sometimes promises have to be broken, especially when meaningful tasks are put in my path. Tasks I must complete to move forward."

"What does that even **mean**!?" Naruto roars in frustration, half pulling at his hair.

With the awkwardness behind me, I stand up and get ready for an hour of self-defence. I eye Mr. Hatake up as he begins the class and it only bolsters my resolve. Maybe I won't go after Mr. Hatake, but I **am **going to achieve a mature boyfriend this year. I risk a quick glance at Kiba. _If it kills me._

* * *

_New fic, new fic. Lalala. I hope you liked it so far! Just so we're clear, Ino and her year are supposed to be out 17? I hope you enjoyed this chapter and are willing to see how it pans out. Thank you for reading! I __**really **__wanted to call this: A, B, C, I want the D, but I decided against it. Ahem. _


	2. Identify Yourself

Different kind of Apple Polisher

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_Options suddenly rain down from the sky above._

* * *

Chapter 2

**Identify Yourself: Interesting New Additions**

* * *

"Ino. Psst. Ino."

I sigh as I hear Deidara begin to call my name. Deidara's in the year above for his other classes, but not when it comes to English. Dude sucks at English. He also sucks at not annoying me. Sadly.

I steadfastly ignore him, trying to keep my eyes on the board and whatever Mr. Hatake's droning on and on about. I don't actually need to pay attention because Sakura will just let me copy her notes later, but I need a distraction from Deidara and since I sit next to Sakura (who's working) and Choji (who's focusing all his attention on sneakily transporting crisps from under the table and into his mouth) my only option is to listen to Mr. Hatake.

"**Ino**."

Deidara is being so loud that I am completely sure everybody else in the class can hear him. Choji stops eating and glances behind me for a few seconds before he looks at me.

"Ino," he whispers. "Deidara wants you."

"I know." I return, unmoving from my position, head still in my hand, and elbow still on the desk.

Choji's brow scrunches up as he considers my reply, obviously confused, but then he shrugs and goes back to eating crisps. I considered going to sleep for a few minutes -_there's only_ _half an hour left of class after all- _when I suddenly feel something smack my head. I jump in shock and then grimace as I see a paper ball bounce onto my desk. _Oh, that little bitch. _I risk a quick look at Mr. Hatake and then turn round furiously to glare at Deidara.

"What are you **doing**?" I hiss through gritted teeth.

"You weren't turning round!" Deidara shoots back defensively. "I wanted to tell you something yeah."

I take one look at the stupid shit's smirk and know the bastard's planning on teasing me.

"**What**?" I growl.

Deidara's smirk turns into a grin. "I was just going to tell you that my uncle's single un! It's going around school that you're into older men now; just thought I'd help you out."

"Deidara!" I half shriek before recovering. "The only thing that's going around school is your manwhoring ass, and I'm one hundred per cent certain that you got gonorrhoea from that girl Tayuya last year, or am I getting you mixed up with your manwhoring best friend Sasori?"

Deidara's face drops and Sasori, who had been sitting quietly next to his best friend with a bored expression until now, sits up looking scandalised.

However, whatever's he about to say is overridden by Mr. Hatake, who speaks up in a bored tone.

"Talking about anything interesting back there?"

I jump and turn only to see Mr. Hatake leaning on Choji's desk, an eyebrow raised.

"Oh!" I squeak. "Uh, no. Nothing. Nothing at all Mr. Hatake!"

Mr. Hatake's eyebrow rises even higher, but then he shrugs. "Ok. It's your education. You might want to start copying Sakura's notes now, if you want to make sure you keep caught up with the lesson."

I blush maroon and then nod once or twice. Mr. Hatake heads back down to his desk. I turn swiftly and give both Sasori and Deidara the finger -Sasori lets out a gasp of outrage at this- and then I turn back to my work. Sakura is giving me a knowing look, one eyebrow raised. I glower at her.

"I won't copy your work." I growl at her.

Sakura shakes her head and then beings writing down more notes. I turn to Choji.

"Choji," I coo sweetly. "Give us your notes." I yank the boy's notes away from him and begin scrawling down whatever it is he's written; it seems to trail off halfway and instead of words there's just crumbs…but at least it's something.

"Hey, what did Deidara mean?" Choji leans in close and whispers to me as I write.

"What?" I reply distractedly. _Is that an I or a T? _I squint at the piece of paper.

"What did Deidara mean by you being into older men?"

I glance up at my friend and then shrug. "Eh. I've just decided I'm not going to go for guys our age anymore. I want to go for more mature guys."

Choji rolls this over in his head for a while, quiet, and then he speaks up again. "What like…a** man**? With a **beard**?"

Sakura looks up and we share an amused smile before I turn back to Choji. "The beard is optional." I reply.

"I could grow a beard." Kiba suddenly butts in jealously from next to Sakura.

"Kiba, the most you can muster is some peach fuzz." Shino, from next to Kiba, pipes up.

"Hey! Shut it bug boy!" Kiba roars.

"Kiba." Mr. Hatake warns quietly.

"Sorry Mr. Hatake sir!" Kiba replies sweetly and then he looks back at me, eyes huge. "Ino, you don't need to do this. There's plenty of guys our age who would love to go out with you if you'd only give them a chance and let them explain to you that I didn't mean to kiss that girl, I was just drunk and-"

"'Plenty of guys or just you?" Sakura interrupts, raising her eyebrows at the brunette.

"Ok, maybe the last part only applies to me, but-" Kiba goes to wheedle some more, but I'm distracted when **another **paper ball hits the back of my head.

I turn and gift Deidara with a vicious glare, but he just winks at me, Sasori smirking by his side.

"**We're **older guys Ino." The blonde grins.

"Yes you are," I reply, feigning thoughtfulness before giving them a deadpan look. "You're also most likely the equivalent of two walking STD's, are incredibly immature and are both retaking English due to the fact you didn't turn up to the exam last year. So mature."

"Comedy Central was doing a marathon of Scrubs that day hmm!" Deidara returns indignantly.

"And we were high." Sasori adds.

"Like I said," I reply sweetly. "**So **mature."

"What, so you want like…a grandpa?"

I turn back round to see Choji gazing at me, looking more than a little bewildered. I sigh and rub at my forehead.

"No Choji, I do not 'want like a grandpa.'"

"I could be a grandpa." Kiba mutters moodily.

I give him an incredulous look. Sasuke turns around from in front of us and fixes me with one of his emotionless gazes.

"You want to sleep with a granddad?" He questions.

I stare at him in shock for a few seconds, my eyes wide and then I leap up. "NO!" I screech.

Sasuke's eyes narrow slightly and his mouth pulls down a little at being shrieked at, but apart from that he barely moves. "Oh." He murmurs and then he turns back round, satisfied.

"Ino,"

I look up, face scrunched as I recognise the voice, and see Mr. Hatake looking at me.

"After college detention."

I droop. _Great_.

"Oh no! You won't be able to attend Self Defence class!" Sakura whines.

"Do you want me to tell the teacher?" Kiba asks.

"Mr. Hatake **is **the teacher." I hiss back before drooping down onto my desk and moping.

_Why are older guys so fuddy duddy?_

* * *

I grumble about my detention all the way through the day. Sakura meets me in the hall as I head to the detention. She's tying her hair up, getting ready for self-defence class. I grunt at her in acknowledgement as I make my way towards my detention classroom.

"Sorry that you got detention Ino," my best friend sighs. "But it'll be over in a jiffy I'm sure. I'll meet you after my lesson and we can go to the coffee shop if you want?"

I pause just before the door to my detention class and let out an exaggerated sigh. "I haven't got any money."

Sakura rolls her eyes. "I'll pay." She assures me and then she watches as I enter the detention classroom.

The noise in here is cacophonic; all the students are messing about- throwing paper airplanes at each other, fighting, laughing, some are even on Gameboys. _Huh. This is not what I envisioned detention to look like. _I stand there for a few seconds, taking the whole thing.

"Oh hello. You're a new one. Never seen you before."

As I'm addressed I look over to see who's talking to me and holy shit…if it isn't a hot teacher. I stare at him for a few seconds, kinda thrown off balance. He looks about the same age as Mr. Hatake, with black hair, a deep tan and, hey what would you know, a beard. He has a cigarette tucked behind his ear and a pencil in his mouth. Maybe detention isn't going to be so bad.

_Hey, Ino, snap out of it_. I realise that maybe just gawping at him isn't the best way to start our prospective relationship so I move closer to the desk where he currently has his feet up, leaning back, arms -muscly arms, which are undeniably obvious through his tight shirt- behind his head.

"Yeah, hi," I greet, trying to keep my voice loud enough so that I can be heard over the madness going on behind me. "I'm Ino Yamanaka."

"Nice to meet cha Ino," hot teacher returns, bringing his feet down off the desk as he leans forward. "Welcome to detention. Congrats on avoiding being caught until now."

I bristle. "Hey! I'm the epitome of a perfect student-" _Lie. _"-I've not been 'avoiding' getting caught!"

"Right, right," returns hot teacher as he pushes a piece of paper towards me. "Sign your name,"

I grab a pencil off the desk and begin signing my name.

"What'd you get caught for?" Hot teacher enquires as I do so.

"Talking in class." I reply, straightening up and examining his face. He really is very attractive, very distinguished looking too. _Exactly what I need. _

"Ah. That's what I would have guessed. What were you talking about?"

I go red immediately. "Oh, uh, nothing important." I return.

Hot teacher raises his eyebrows at his, but doesn't comment as I feel a presence slope in behind me. I turn just as Shikamaru, my best friend, whacks me with his bag.

"Hey Shikamaru!" Hot teacher greets, raising his hand. "Get caught sleeping in class again?"

"Yes," Shikamaru returns looking bored. "It's such a drag Asuma. I already knew all the stuff Mr. Tenzo was telling me. So bothersome."

I turn and watch as he walks away, dragging his feet, as he heads for a seat near the back. Huh. I always figured Shika didn't attend Self Defence classes because he couldn't be bothered, looks like he actually has a proper valid excuse. I watch as he drops his head onto the desk. _I doubt he needs an excuse not to attend anyway. _I pout, wondering how I never knew Shikamaru was a regular attendee of detention. I'm so lost in my thoughts that I actually forgot hot teacher sitting behind me.

"Hey flower power, are you ever going to sit down?"

I turn to look at him, an eyebrow raised. Hot teacher grins at me.

"I kinda need to watch the whole class." He explains.

I huff and toss my hair over my shoulder. "I'm a better view than anyone in this class." I return importantly.

Hot teacher shrugs. "I won't disagree with you there, but you do need to sit down."

_I'll sit on your lap_ I mutter in my head, but instead of saying this I simply smile sweetly at him and nod.

"Ok Asuma." I agree.

"Mr. Sarutobi." Asuma corrects.

"Yes." I reply formally and then I walk over to join Shikamaru at his table.

Shika's fast asleep when I get there so I hit him over the head as I sit down. The boy jerks awake, giving me an annoyed look.

"Why are you here? Detention's the only place I can sleep in college without being bothered." He grumbles.

I smile sweetly at him. "I love you too Shikamaru, best friends forever. Now," I lean down low and become business like. "How come you know that teacher so well?"

Shikamaru raises an eyebrow and then raises his head to look at Mr. Sarutobi.

"He's my maths teacher. Asuma's cool." My best friend returns.

"**Maths**. Of course." I mutter to myself.

Shikamaru's brow scrunches at this. "…what?" He questions.

"Nothing. Hey listen, is he single?" I return.

Shikamaru cocks his head at me a little, looking bewildered. No matter how clever my best friend is, he's pretty dumb when it comes to girls. "Why? Are your parents splitting up or something? Are you trying to set your mum up with Asuma?"

I let out a groan and I'm about to reply when suddenly a boy from behind us, shoots in between us, grinning. He's pale with white chin length hair and purple eyes. He's pretty hot…but I'm not going after boys my age anymore so I raise my eyebrows disparagingly at him.

"Hello." He greets, not looking bothered by my look.

I relent while Shikamaru slumps back down to sleep.

"Hello." I return.

"You're new," the white haired guy informs me. "I've never seen you before. Have you decided to join the dark side?"

The guy looks like he just got out of juvie, so I narrow my eyes at him. "No," I reply. "I just got caught talking in class."

"Oh," the guy slumps down, looking disappointed. "I thought you looked kinda cool, but I must have got it wrong. You're just another one of those prissy girls."

I glare at him, outraged. "I'm not prissy!" I return.

"Then who are you?" The guy returns, smiling now.

"I'm Ino," I reply. "You?"

"Suigetsu," Suigetsu says. "So, Ino, if you're not prissy how come I've never seen you around here before?"

I cross my arms as I reply. "Maybe I'm just better at getting away with things than you are." I suggest.

Suigetsu laughs. "So you're not afraid of danger then?"

I give the boy a bored look. "No."

Suigetsu moves a little closer. "What about dangerous people?"

Despite myself my heart rate begins to increase a little, but I keep my cool as I reply. Grinning, I move closer, till our noses nearly touch.

"Nope."

* * *

_Ok! So thank you to everyone who's reviewed so far! Add, Ghostsammeo, ShikaInoInuKikIchiHime36 and Jigoku-Dayu93! Also thank you to those who have favourited my story- it really really means a lot! Anne Marie Masen, Ghiblifan4life and xLoveChuuChuuTrainx. Genuinely thank you! I'd love to hear your thoughts on this chapter :D Thanks to anyone who read! Review ~_


	3. PE Challenge: Ino vs Sand Pit!

Different kind of Apple Polisher

* * *

_It begins._

* * *

Chapter 3

**P.E. Challenge: Ino vs. Sand Pit!**

* * *

"Ino no."

I grimace as Sakura slaps my hand away from her muffin. As promised, she and I had headed straight to the coffee shop after our prospective classes had finished.

Detention had actually been a lot of fun; Asuma let everyone talk amongst themselves and I simply chatted to Suigetsu and Shikamaru the whole hour.

"So anyway," I dart my hand out and manage to pick a few crumbs off Sakura's muffin even as she lifts it to put in her mouth. "I found someone I'm interested in."

Sakura midway through munching on her muffin, pauses, and looks at me with interest. Her emerald eyes wide. She gulps her food down and then cocks her head at me. "Who?" She enquires, taking a quick, delicate, sip of her coffee.

"Asuma Sarutobi, he was the teacher heading the detention." I reply breezily.

"Ino no." Sakura responds immediately.

Beside me, Shikamaru stirs. Did I mention I dragged Shikamaru along with us? Because I dragged Shikamaru along with us.

"You're **interested **in Asuma?" He mutters once he's drawn himself up. He looks at me unsurely.

"Mmhm." I reply brightly.

"Ino no." He returns straight away.

"Listen to Shikamaru, Ino." Sakura nods.

"Out of all the teachers in the college, you want to go after the only one I get on with properly? What a drag," Shikamaru drags his hands down his face in a tragic way. "Asuma's cool Ino."

"I noticed!" I return brightly and then I sip some of my coffee. "Which is why I'm going to shag him!"

Sakura starts choking on her muffin and Shikamaru slams his hand onto his forehead.

_Such supportive friends. _

"Ugh," Shikamaru drags himself up after a short bout of silence. "Well I'm going home. I'll just get into bed and pretend this entire conservation was some nightmare I had."

I roll my eyes at him and Sakura waves goodbye before turning to look at me, her expression stern.

I turn to look at her. "Come on Saks-"

"Ino," she cuts through me. "I hope, for **your **sake, you're joking."

"Sakura!" I return. "Stop being so-"

"I'm being serious Ino," Sakura says seriously with a serious look on her face. "I don't want you to get into trouble. Or worse, get Mr. Sarutobi into trouble!"

I glower at her for a few seconds, but she just glowers right back. Eventually I flail and slump down onto the table.

"Whatever." I mutter.

There's a short silence and then Sakura places her hand onto mine.

"C'mon Ino," she interlocks our fingers. "Don't be mad at me; you know I'm only looking out for you,"

I grumble something incoherent and look to the side.

"I'll help you find a hot older guy, I promise I will," Sakura says solemnly. "Just…anyone but a teacher, ok?"

Instead of replying I lay silent for a few moments before suddenly darting out and grabbing Sakura's muffin off the table. Before she can react, I shove the whole thing into my mouth.

"**Ino**!" She explodes as I begin chewing nonchalantly.

* * *

"Ino, it's time to stop chatting and time to start long jumping!"

It's a new day and I'm currently in P.E. Miss Yuhi is nice, but she's also a stickler for working hard, so me chatting is not particularly her favourite thing in the world. The only thing is, it's the middle of Autumn and we're outside on the field at **nine **am. The field doesn't even seem ready for college to have started- a thick fog is hanging down upon the whole area, completely obscuring the actual college building. It only starts to become apparent when you begin walking the width of the field; then it rises up out of the mist, looming over you like some sort of haunted castle.

"Miss!" I whine. "It's freezing! Why aren't we inside playing dodgeball or something?"

Miss Yuhi sighs. "I've explained this three times already Ino," she returns, her tone exasperated. "There is a Mathletics Competiton in a few days and it's going to be held in the sports hall- the Matheletics team are practising right now."

"How come their education is more important than ours?" Asks a girl called Ami.

Ami's overly competitive and can be a real bitch at times. I don't think anyone likes her apart from her two lackeys. Miss Yuhi's eyes narrow as Ami speaks.

"Because, Ami, here at Konohagakure College, we like to practise a little something called respect," before Ami can reply, Miss Yuhi turns back to me. "Now, Ino, long jump."

I sigh, but then step up to the track. Vaguely, out of the corner of my eye, I spot somebody coming towards our P.E. group through the mist. _Whatever, I need to focus on this jump_. I suck in a deep breath and then begin powering down the track; my legs pumping and my arms tight against my body as I run. Just as I jump, a voice penetrates my thoughts.

"Hey Miss Yuhi, just come down to tell you that you can have the sports hall, one of our braniacs has called in sick."

I turn at the sound of a familiar tone and see Asuma standing next to Miss Yuhi. My eyes widen and, due to the distraction, I go crashing head first into the cold sand of the jump pit.

"Ino!" Miss Yuhi yelps.

"Oh crap." Comments Asuma.

I lie there, face first in the sand, mouth full of the vile stuff, and slowly turn beetroot red. Not only have I just embarrassed myself in front of the entire class, I've also humiliated myself in front of one of the hottest teachers in the school. _Shit_. As I sit up, spitting out sand as I do so, Miss Yuhi and Asuma both come over to me. Miss Yuhi immediately kneels at my side.

"Are you ok Ino? Nothing broken?" She touches my arm gingerly, ruby eyes lit up with worry.

I glance over my teacher's shoulder and see that Ami and her lackeys are cackling away at my misfortune.

"Hey, shut up!" I yell aggressively.

"Why?" Teases Ami in return. "Are you going to fall over at me?"

Then she and her friends begin laughing again. I go to stand up, but suddenly get overwhelmed by a feeling of dizziness. Miss Yuhi supports me as I nearly fall.

"Oh dear," she comments. "Seems like you may have hurt your head. Maybe you should go to the nurse Ino."

"I don't-" I stop short as my head suddenly begins pounding. "Maybe." I agree.

"Right, well," Kurenai straightens slightly, still holding onto me, and then turns to look at her class. "I want you all to be good while I take Ino to the nurse's office. No messing around and **no **skipping out; just because I'm not here does not mean class is not on."

Ami and her friends all share smirks. I glower at them and then stiffen when I suddenly feel Asuma moving closer to me. _God, he smells good_. I begin taking in big sniffs surreptitiously, allowing whatever his aftershave is, to float into my nostrils. I almost want to fall against him.

"There's no need for you abandon class," he says to Miss Yuhi, apparently unaware of the student sniffing at him. "I can take Ino to the nurse's."

Miss Yuhi turns to look at him. I keep my face to the ground, still occasionally, sniffing. I'm pretty sure that if I look at Asuma head on, I'll probably go bright red. I don't exactly need any more embarrassment after the lovely show I've just put on.

"Are you sure?" Miss Yuhi requests, her grip on me slackening slightly.

"Yeah sure. No bother," Asuma returns. "Since Mathletics isn't on anymore, I've not got anything better to do."

Kurenai gifts the man with a brilliant smile. "Ok then, great! Thank you Mr. Sarutobi," then she lets go of me gently. "Can you walk Ino?"

I smile reassuringly up at her, trying to remain casual as my heart begins pounding in my chest. "I'll be fine, thank you Miss. Sorry."

Kurenai pats me vaguely. "It's fine Ino," she assures. "Just go and get an ice pack from the nurse. I'll excuse you for the rest of the lesson."

I say thank you again and then follow after Asuma, who has begun walking off already. I hurry to catch up with him and then we begin walking in tandem. We're silent for a while and I quickly move closer for another sniff of his intoxicating aftershave, then Asuma speaks.

"It's called 'Police Dark'," he says.

I draw back, giving him a bewildered look. He smirks.

"My aftershave, it's called Police Dark."

I steadily go bright red and Asuma's smile steadily widens.

"It's…um," I cough, clearing my throat. "It's nice." I compliment.

Asuma shakes his head slightly, still smiling. "Thanks," he returns.

We walk in silence for a few moments, the college building slowly becoming obvious in the near distance, inky black blocks upon the horizon, and then Asuma speaks again.

"So…that was a nice crash out," he comments. "I presume you're failing Physical Education?"

I stiffen and turn to look at him, outraged. "I am not!" I yelp back. "I'll have you know that I'm one of the highest achievers in that class!"

Asuma begins chuckling through my rant and I pout at him, my eyebrows furrowed.

"Whatever." I mutter, glancing to the side. _Maybe I won't go after Asuma afterall _I think grumpily to myself, _Afterall, he's apparently as immature as all the boys in my year. _

"Aw, come on Ino, I was just kidding." Asuma grunts after a little while, still grinning.

I look up at him and then blush a little. _Though he is very attractive_. I let up.

"I know," I return stiffly. We walk on, nearing one of the doors to the building now. Asuma strides ahead of me and holds the door open to me. I shuffle through. "Gnank gryou." I mutter as I enter, then my eyes widen as I realise I just blurted out utter nothingness in front of my teacher.

Asuma laughs as he follows me in. "What was that?" He grins. "Usually people just say thank you when people hold open doors for them."

"Yeah, um, I meant to say thank you!" I reply.

Asuma raises one eyebrow, still smirking and then shakes his head again. "You're welcome. You're an odd kid Ino."

I bristle. "So not a kid!" I return.

I must have sounded pretty aggressive because Asuma moves away from me slightly, holding up his hands in a placating manner.

"Sorry!" He replies. "You're right, you're right; you guys' at this college, you're 'young adults.'"

Probably still not great, but better than 'kid'. We round the corner and begin walking down the corridor to the nurse's office as I nod.

"Though I think just 'adult' would probably suffice." I suggest.

Asuma laughs again as we stop by the nurse's door. "Ok flower power, you got it."

At the nickname I can't help but feel a little warmed. My face tingles. "Thank you for escorting me to the nurse's office Mr. Sarutobi." I say.

Asuma nods at me. "No problemo. Hope Ms Katō can help you. Hopefully I won't see you around."

I stall. "What?"

"So far we've only met under bad circumstances," he returns, grinning. "Perhaps I'm bad luck for you."

I move closer to the door and then raise an eyebrow. "Well, the first time you saw me was because I was naughty," I glance at the ground before looking back at him, well aware that what I'm about to say is a bit…um…risqué. "And I like being naughty Mr. Sarutobi, so I'm afraid to say you might see me around more often."

The effect of my words is immediately written on the teacher's face. His eyes widen a fraction and he looks slightly confused, perhaps wondering whether he's just accidentally detected an innuendo that wasn't supposed to be there. He clears his throat awkwardly as a small blush stains his cheeks.

"I feel sorry for your teachers." He comments.

I grin at him. "Me too." I reply.

We stay silent for a while, looking at each other and then Asuma stretches. "I better get going," he mutters. "Stay out of trouble." Then he rushes off, throwing one last look over his shoulder as he does so.

Once he's gone I allow myself to grin happily. Who knew flirting inappropriately with a teacher could be so much fun? I feel slightly guilty as I recall what Sakura said yesterday, but it's not like I did anything anyway. I knock on Ms. Katō's door. **Maybe **I won't tell Sakura about this though.

* * *

"You did **what**?"

Ok, so I told Sakura about my inappropriate flirting. I couldn't help it; I needed to gush.

"I hit on Asuma." I reply airily.

Sakura flushes the chain in her toilet and comes out to wash her hands. "Mr. Sarutobi," she corrects me as I lean against the sink and watch her. "And **Ino**, I thought we'd been through this?"

"**What**?" I reply innocently as I follow her over to the paper towels. "I didn't **do **anything."

Sakura rips some paper towels down from their dispenser -violently, may I add- and fixes me with a dark look. "You know **exactly **what you're up to," she returns. "Poor Mr. Sarutobi."

"What do you mean 'Poor Mr. Sarutobi'?" I return, rolling my eyes. "He's hot! I'm sure he's used to students flirting with him." I say this as we enter the corridor again, emerging into a throng of students all headed for the exit of the college, or for the café as lunch starts.

"Who's flirting with what now?" Naruto suddenly appears behind Sakura and I, throwing his arms around us as he looks from one face to another.

I punch him in the gut casually. "None of your business." I reply.

"Ino's trying it on with teachers." Choji appears next to me, stuffing crisps into his mouth as Naruto falls back, clutching his stomach.

I fix him with an angry look. "Choji!" I complain.

"What?" Choji returns, looking aggrieved by my anger. "You are!"

"Yeah, but I don't want **Naruto **knowing that!" I reply. "He tells everyone everything!"

As we enter the café, we spot Sasuke, already sitting at our usual table.

"Hey Sasuke!" Naruto calls, waving. "Did you know that Ino is actually **trying it on **with teachers now?"

"Argh!" I roar as I punch Naruto on the head.

"Ow!" Naruto falls away, giving me a pained looked as he does so. "Ino!" He complains. "Sasuke's our friend, it's not like I've told anyone we don't know!"

I give him an angry look. "Naruto, you just yelled it halfway across the café, now everyone will know. Besides, it is neither yours nor Sasuke's business! And **anyway**," I glower daggers at the blond who is now staring at me fearfully. "Where were you this morning? Why weren't you in P.E.?"

As we come to sit down, Naruto finally grins. "Oh yeah," he rubs the back of his neck. "So **that's **the lesson we had; I totally forgot. I just stayed with Sasuke during his free period instead."

"**Naruto**." Sakura tuts.

Naruto shrugs. "I can't keep up with all these classes."

I roll my eyes and then realise Sasuke's looking at me. I look back at him.

"What?" I request.

"You do know it's illegal to have a relationship with a teacher?" He checks, his dark black eyes absorbing me in.

"Shut up Sasuke." I reply immediately.

Sasuke raises an eyebrow. "Hn." He returns.

"Sasuke's right Ino," Sakura says as she begins rummaging through her bag, looking for her purse. "Like I said yesterday, you'd get in a lot of trouble."

"I've flirted with him **one **time," I gripe as I retrieve my own purse from my bag. "Can everyone just drop it?"

"So it's not only me you get haughty with, good to know."

I turn just in time to see Asuma drifting past, grinning. I go bright red and whip round to stare at the table. All my friends stare at either me or Asuma alternatively.

"You're going after Mr. Sarutobi?" Sasuke says. "He's my maths teacher."

"Wow," Sakura comments, her eyes still on Asuma. "He is pretty hot."

"Yeah," Choji agrees. "He's nice too; he's my homeroom teacher."

"Ooh," Sakura mutters and then she suddenly shakes her head, meeting eyes with Sasuke guiltily as she does so. "Well none of that matters! He's still a teacher. Ino, I still say it's not a very good idea," she looks back over at where Asuma is and her mouth opens a little. "No matter how nice his, uh-" she cuts herself off, eyes wide. "No," she says to me firmly.

I turn around and see that Asuma's leaning down to tie his shoelace. I grin and look back at Sakura. The boys of the table also look at her. Naruto nudges her cheekily and Sakura lets out a high pitch yip.

"Why is this suddenly about me?" She demands and then she gets to her feet. "Sasuke, do you want me to fetch you anything from the counter?"

Sasuke puts his elbows up on the table, interlocks his fingers and then gazes over them at her. "Buns." He replies after a while of silence.

Naruto, Choji and I begin chuckling wildly. Sakura yanks me up and begins dragging me over to the food queue.

* * *

_Chugga chugga chugga inappropriate train. Hope you're enjoying it so far! Thank you to all the people who have reviewed so far! Jigoku-Dayu93, thank you for your review on chapter 1! I love having you read my fics :3 Also thank you to: ShikaInoInuKikIchiHime36! (I didn't know anyone else who liked the idea of SuiIno, not that I'm saying this'll be a SuiIno endgame fic! I'm glad someone else likes the idea of them together though!), Anne Marie Masen! (I'm not sure what you said, but you added this fic to your favourites. Thank you so much!), Bri, Ghostsammeo and yoo (thank you for your compliment on my writing ^_^ It means a lot!) for reviewing! Also, thank you to Mia8 for favouriting! I hope you enjoyed this chapter and like how it's going. I'd love to hear your thoughts! Lots of love ~  
_


	4. Kiss or be kissed: Romance in Drama

Different kind of Apple Polisher

* * *

_Drama lessons with actual drama._

* * *

Chapter 4

**Kiss or be kissed: Romance in Drama**

* * *

"So, what do you think?"

The line for food is always huge and, for some reason, every single student in this college takes forever ordering, so Sakura and I will have plenty of time to chat. Well…if she replies to me. Currently Sakura is steadfastly staring forward. I roll my eyes and nudge her.

"Saks," I prompt. "Saks,"

No response.

"Sakura. Hey. Hey Sakura. Sakura what do you think?" I nudge her again. "Sakura. Forehead. Sakura. Saks. Hey. Hey Sakura."

Finally she looks at me, looking exasperated. "Ino, you know what I think!" She exclaims.

"Yeah, no, I don't mean your personal opinion on the situation; I **mean **what do you **think**?" I raise my eyebrows at her.

Sakura stares back at me, keeping a resolute straight face for a while, but then she finally breaks down. "Ok, he is super super hot, probably even challenging Mr. Hatake for hotness, but Ino-"

I don't listen to the rest of her rant as I start whooping and dancing. "I knew it! I knew it! You think he's hooott."

"Why does it matter if I-?" Sakura goes to complain, but I put my hand over her mouth and smile into her face.

"So, I have your approval." I state.

Sakura rips my hand off her mouth. "No you don't!" She exclaims. "You have the exact opposite of my approval! You have my disapproval!"

I sigh loudly. "**Not **about the **situation**," I grumble. "I have your approval on the whole 'guy you're crushing on is indeed hot' meter!"

Sakura's eyes narrow and she turns her head to the side slightly, as if trying to suss me out. Eventually, she replies. "Well…yes…" She murmurs, taking care with her words. "But I still don't think-"

"I'm so pleased I have your approval!" I ride through her and then grin widely at her.

"I…" Sakura raises a finger and then droops while I continue my inane smile. "Whatever Ino. I don't want you to get in trouble is all," she turns back to the front for a few seconds and then looks back to me. "And I don't want you getting a man fired," she points her fingers into my face. "Understand?"

"Yes Miss Haruno Miss!" I agree.

Sakura glowers at me for a long time and then turns back to face the front for a few seconds before, once again, looking back to me.

"Do you think Sasuke actually wanted buns?" She enquires.

"You certainly seemed interested." I reply.

Sakura lets out a shriek and punches me roughly on the arm.

* * *

"ROMANCE!"

Mr. Gai pirouettes into the drama studio and then points dramatically at us, one hand up in the air.

"Romance is what sustains **youth**!" He twirls again. "Romance is what keeps us **fresh**, **new**! You, all of you, will be starring in romantic plays! Nobody can be a background character! Every character must encounter romance in some form or another. Everyone must be-" He comes close and stares deeply into Karin's face. "**Touched**. Touched by the shining light of true love!"

Karin draws back, looking more than a little grossed out by Mr. Gai's display. I don't know Karin that well, but apart from being kinda uptight, she's ok. I send her a pitying look, which she replies to with a despairing look.

"Yes!" Rock Lee yells out.

Rock Lee shouldn't even be **in** this class, but he insisted on taking a fourth subject last year, just so he could stay with Mr. Gai forever. So essentially, he's taking three second year subjects and one first year subject and the only reason I can come up with is, essentially, that Rock Lee is in love with Mr. Gai.

Rock Lee's not the only person from the year above in this class however. Currently giggling next to me is Hidan, who, like Deidara and Sasori, didn't pass first year because he was bumming around, getting in trouble and smoking out back. Hidan, right now, is absolutely wetting himself at Mr. Gai and Rock Lee's show, which is literally what he does every single week.

I nudge him in the ribs. "Grow up."

He turns to look at me, tears of laughter still in his eyes, and smirks before nudging me back. "Am I not old enough for your tastes yet?"

Sasori and Deidara must have told him. I go bright red and stick my tongue out at him before turning my back resolutely.

"Got your eye on Mr. Gai?" Hidan sounds from next to me.

I push his face away from me and then peer up at Mr. Gai innocently.

"Groups!" Our teacher declares proudly. "Ino, Kiba, Naruto and Hidan!"

_Fuck_. As Mr. Gai goes on to split more people into groups, I feel all the colour drain from my cheeks. **Why**? A group with Kiba? This was going to suck big time.

"Cool!" Naruto exclaims from beside me.

I stay silent as Kiba shuffles over to be near Hidan, Naruto and I.

"Good group." The brunette comments happily.

"Yeah, yeah," Hidan retorts, falling into a lying position, his arms behind his head as he stares up at the ceiling. "As long as you little shits don't make me do too much work, I'm fine with whatever."

"So we have to make a romantic play right?" Naruto says, the look on his face thoughtful.

I stay staring forward, still quiet.

"Ino," Naruto looks to me. "You're good at ideas. Can you think anything up for us?"

I feel Kiba's eyes on me, but I resolutely ignore him as I turn to look at Naruto.

"Uh, well, since there's four of us, we could do two separate romances," I suggest. "So…me and you, Naruto, we could have a romance. And then the other two could have their own romance. And, maybe, to keep them connected, I could be friends with Hidan or something."

"If you think I'm kissing Kiba, you're wrong," Hidan states.

I glower at him. "You don't have to kiss-"

"And I want you to **show **your love! The more physical you are, the better I will grade you!" Mr. Gai's voice suddenly penetrates everyone's ears and I drop my point.

"Fine," I grumble. "**I**'**ll **be in a romance with you Hidan. The other two can be together-"

"Yeah, cool," Naruto agrees in an offhand way. "But also what if, like, you, Ino, are cheating on Hidan with Kiba!?"

I go white and turn to give him a stiff glare. Naruto is giving a thumbs up to Kiba. Clearly the two little bastards are working together to try and get me to forgive Kiba.

Not. Going. To. Happen.

"I don't think that's a good idea-" I reply, but, unfortunately for me, Mr. Gai has been listening in and, apparently, he disagrees.

"No, no! That's a great idea! Naruto, you can be the despairing spouse. Hidan can be unknowing of the romance going on behind his back. And Kiba and Ino you can be two desperate lovers, facing against adversity as you fight for your love!"

"I-" I stutter and then fall quiet.

"I like it." Kiba comments, smiling. Smiling right at me, may I add.

I narrow my eyes at him. "Whatever." I growl back.

* * *

"This **sucks**,"

Sakura lets out a consoling clucking noise as I fall back onto her pink satin duvet cover. I throw my arm over my face in despair. After college had finished, Sakura had noticed I wasn't my usual chatty self and had invited me back to her place. Now we were both in her room and I had just finished telling her about the whole Kiba fiasco.

"And what's worse is the fact that Naruto's trying to help him! Does he not get how hurt I was?" I roll onto my stomach and gaze up at Sakura, who's sitting at the end of her bed, painting her nails as she listens to me gripe.

"Naruto's Naruto," she replies, turning to give me an anxious smile. "He can never see the bad in anyone. He probably just thinks that because Kiba's sorry, that you should just forgive him. He just wants everyone to be friends."

"Stupid friendly Naruto." I grumble.

"Look Ino, I'm sure you'll be able to get through this," Sakura finishes one hand and holds it up in front of her, admiring her nails. "It's just acting right? You're good at being overdramatic."

"And you're good at being mean to me when all I want is help." I retort, sitting up.

"Aw Ino, you know I didn't mean it," Sakura pats me with her unpainted hand. "Do you want a nice Haruno hot chocolate?"

I pout for a few seconds longer and then look up at her. "With sprinkles?"

"Of course." Sakura replies, smiling.

"Yes please." I mumble back.

* * *

I let out a low sigh as I walk to college the next morning. It's a lot colder than I expected it to be and so I wrap my arms around myself as I trot along. I crunch along the pavement, crushing bright orange leaves underneath me as I go and let out another long sigh. I have Drama today **and **I also have English, which Kiba is also in. It feels like it's impossible to avoid him. As I enter the school gates, the smell of cigarette smoke hits me, I glance up and follow the long lazy line of smoke back to its source. It just so happens to be Asuma, leaning against the entrance gate, taking a deep drag of his cigarette. He notices me right as I notice him.

"Cheer up Ino. I know college isn't the most exciting place in the school, but it beats being bored at home all day." He grins at me.

I go red -though I'm sure my cheeks are pretty red already from the cold, dammit I should have brought my scarf- and walk up to him.

"I don't know if I'd agree with that," I reply. I look over at the gates, leading out onto the road, currently obscured by early morning mist. "Being at home in bed seems a lot more preferable."

Asuma shrugs and takes another puff of his cigarette before replying. "You're here early." He states.

"Always am." I reply, watching his lips as he exhales smoke.

He smiles before replying, looking out into the distance. "I wouldn't have pegged you for an early riser."

I narrow my eyes at him. "Why is that?"

Asuma's smile widens and then he shakes his head. "You know, I'm gonna deign not to answer that, because I am one hundred per cent certain that whatever I say, you'll take offense to."

I stuff my hands into my -thin, way too thin- jacket pockets. "You can't do that." I mutter.

Asuma lets out a short laugh as he looks down at me. "Course I can, one of the benefits of being a teacher."

"Being rude is one of the benefits of being a teacher is it?" I reply shortly. Once again I begin to consider whether I've jumped the gun a bit with Asuma. I mean, the dude really seems to enjoy winding me up. Not exactly a trait I'm after in an adult man.

"That's right," Asuma grins and then he laughs at my facial expression. "I'm joking Ino! I'm very sorry if I caused offense."

I glower off to the side. "Whatever." I retort.

There's a moment of silence and then Asuma cocks his head at me. "Is there something wrong though flower power? You don't seem too happy today."

I grimace, but then shake my head. I don't want to bore Asuma with all my gripes about Kiba. "Nothing's wrong." I reply.

"You sure?" Asuma ducks his head a little, obviously trying to suss my facial expression. "You know you can talk to me right? Us teachers aren't just here to talk at you guys, we're here to help as well."

There he goes again, separating himself and myself into two different categories. I really need to knock that way of thinking out of his head. Thing is, I can't do anything too rash because then he'll be scared away. I shrug.

"I know," I say. "But I'm fine."

Asuma still doesn't look convinced. "Right," he mutters. "Well, if you ever need to talk, my office is on the maths corridor. Ok?"

I chew at my bottom lip and then nod quickly. "Thanks Asuma." I murmur. I wait for him to correct me, but he doesn't say anything. I begin walking away quickly, my boots crunching against the leaves as I head up to the college building.

"Seeya around Ino!" He calls after me. "Have a good day."

I hold up a hand in reply, but inside I'm having a little party. Looks like I'm getting through to him, slowly but surely. I can't help myself grinning. _Great_.

* * *

_Thank you to Jigoku-Dayu93, Bri, Ghostsammeo and ShikaInoInuKikIchiHime36 for reviewing the last chapter! It means a lot. I hope you enjoyed this chapter! _


	5. Ino's Counterattack: Never give in!

Different kind of Apple Polisher

* * *

_Accidental arguments._

* * *

Chapter 5

**Ino's Counterattack: Never give in!**

* * *

When I enter the college the first thing I see is Kiba, watching me with a disapproving expression. I gift him with a glare and go to brush past him, but he catches me with his hand, pushing me back by my shoulder.

"Ino, you shouldn't be messing around with teachers, it's just trouble." He says, his tone grim.

I bristle, feeling infuriated that he's even daring to try and speak to me, especially about my love life.

"If it irritates you so much," I growl, making sure every word is calm and measured. "Then stop watching me."

Kiba's composure cracks for a moment and he gives me a despairing look. "I'm just trying to look out for you Ino. Mr. Sarutobi is way older than you, I don't want you to be hu-"

"Hurt?" I cut through him, guessing what he was about to say. "You don't want me to be **hurt**? Well then maybe you should stay out of my life for now, because you do a pretty crap job of keeping me from harm,"

Kiba goes silent and his hand falls away from my shoulder. I strut past him. I'm planning on leaving with an air of superior silence, but then decide that maybe a quick insult might help a little bit too.

"Don't talk to me ever again you shitfaced bastard."

I'm just heading up the stairs when Kiba calls out, mournfully, to me. "But we have drama today."

I go slightly pink, but I raise my middle finger and hold it up, allowing him to see it. Yeah, I'm probably being pretty harsh, but Kiba needs to learn his lesson; you don't mess with Ino Yamanaka and get away with it. I head up the stairs, and as I round the corner I'm greeted by the sight of Suigetsu and Sasuke, Suigetsu grinning at me.

"I thought I heard your soothing tones." He says to me as I approach.

I smile at him. "Soothing really? Aw, thank you Suigetsu!"

Sasuke rolls his eyes and Suigetsu starts laughing. "I'm afraid I was being sarcastic Yamanaka," he chuckles. "Though your ego swelling expression is just lovely."

I glare at him and then look at Sasuke who meets my eyes. "I didn't know you two were friends." I comment.

"Hn." Sasuke replies.

"Yeah me and Sasuke made friends last year when he was going through his rebellious years." Suigetsu concurs, putting his hands on the back of his head and lacing his fingers together.

I snort. "I still can't believe you went through 'rebellious years'," I say, looking at Sasuke. "Didn't you get arrested once or twice?"

Sasuke looks to the side, his hair floating in response to the quick action. "Hn." He mutters.

I laugh and Sasuke turns a heavy glower onto me.

"Where's Sakura?" I request, dodging his glare.

Sasuke shrugs, his glare receding. Suigetsu also shrugs, sipping at a slush puppy as he does so. I have no idea where that came from. Suddenly Sasuke's phone buzzes and he lifts it up to look at it.

"She's coming in now," he then informs me after scanning the text he just received. "She wants me to come meet her."

"Is she outside?" I ask quickly.

Sasuke nods and then I smile widely.

"I'll come too then!" I decide. I'm not hoping Asuma will still be out there or anything…promise.

Sasuke gives me a suspicious look. "Why?" He questions after a few seconds of silence.

"Because Sakura will, one hundred per cent, desire my illustrious company." I reply without batting an eyelid.

Suigetsu begins choking on his slush puppy as he laughs uproariously. I gift him with a glare and then smile at Sasuke again. Sasuke stares at me steadily for a few seconds, apparently trying to suss me out and then he shrugs.

"Whatever." He mutters before beginning to slope off.

"Seeya Sasuke. Seeya Ino!" Suigetsu calls after us.

I turn and wave at him and Sasuke raises a hand in acknowledgement and then we begin down the stairs. Thankfully Kiba is not there as we round the corner. We walk in silence out of the door and then Sasuke looks sidelong at me.

"Mr. Sarutobi mentioned you in class yesterday." He says, his voice giving nothing away.

I turn to him quickly, staring at him with wide eyes as I drink this information in. "Really!?" I exclaim. "What did he say? How did he say it? In what context?"

Sasuke stares at me quietly as I gabble at him and then replies. "He just asked if you were one of my friends."

I cock my head at him. "And what did you say Sasuke? Did you tell him we're the bestest of best friends?"

"I said we were kind of friends." Sasuke replies.

I let out a yelp and then punch him on the arm. "'Kind of' friends?" I repeat. "Sasuke, we've known each other since primary school, how can you call us 'kind of' friends?"

Sasuke looks borderline confused by my reaction. "Well then what are we?" He asks.

I feel like I'm about to combust. "**Friends**!" I roar. "We're **friends**!"

"Why are you screaming about friendship to my boyfriend?"

Sasuke and I turn to see Sakura, looking adorable in a candyfloss pink parka, watching us with a raised eyebrow.

"Sasuke-" I throw my hands out to the side in a presenting fashion. "Doesn't think he and I qualify as friends."

Sasuke rolls his eyes and glares to the side. Sakura comes forward, taking off her gloves before entwining her hand with her boyfriend's.

"Sasuke, stop being nasty to Ino, you know she's hormonal." She scolds.

"Hormonal!?" I repeat.

"That's the only explanation we can come up with to explain you're craziness," Naruto suddenly appears on the scene. I punch him swiftly. Naruto bows down, grabbing at his head with one hand even as he raises his other, clad in an orange fingerless glove. "Hi guys." He greets.

"I swear, I have the worst friendship group in the world." I gripe.

"I agree," Sakura nods. "If we were good, we'd have tied to you to a chair by now and held an intervention."

"There's still time." Mutters Sasuke, still looking into the distance.

I stick my tongue out at him before looking at Sakura with a desperate expression. "Saks, I know it's early in the morning, but I need your advice; will you come to the toilets with me?"

Sakura smiles at me. "Of course Ino," she plasters a quick peck on Sasuke's cheek and then links arms with me. "Don't say I never do nothing for you," she adds as we begin strolling to the college doors, leaving Naruto and Sasuke behind us.

As we enter the toilets closest to the door, Sakura unlinks from me and walks over to the mirror, checking her hair. "So what do you need my advice on?" She enquires. "Because you already know my stance on the whole Mr. Sarutobi thing- drop it."

"No it's not that, though he did speak to me this morning and he didn't correct me when I called him Asuma." I float over to the sinks and watch her reflection in the mirror, grinning at her expression.

"He probably just didn't realise," she says brusquely. "Now what do you need?"

"I have drama today," I mutter. "With Kiba. And I just had a bit of a tiff with him in the hallway, like a few minutes ago."

Sakura watches me with a consoling look on her face. "Oh Ino." She clucks.

"I just…" I sigh and slump. "What do I do? Drama's going to be so awkward."

"And you can't avoid him?" Sakura checks.

"Not unless I fake my own death and move to Mexico, no." I grumble.

"Then my advice is…" Sakura places her finger to her chin and taps a few times, considering. "Just act like normal. Act like…since you had the argument this morning, you feel perfectly fine. He knows how you feel and you're now going to be the mature one. Ignore anything past the realms of general niceness and just carry on with your day." She smiles at me.

I consider this advice. _I can do that. _"So, I'll just be civil. Yeah, I can do that," I wrap Sakura into a hug, squishing her. "Thank you Sakura!"

"Where would you be without me eh?" Sakura says as she squeezes me back.

"Probably without a headache."

"Hey!"

* * *

_Sorry for the long wait and the short chapter. I've had a lot to do recently! Thanks for reading. I'd love a review :)_


	6. Ino trembles: Naruto's Pure Stupidity!

Different kind of Apple Polisher

* * *

_Stupidity reigns._

* * *

Chapter 6

**Ino trembles: Naruto's Pure Stupidity!**

* * *

"I brought a toy gun!"

"Why did you bring a toy gun?"

"Cuz toy guns are cool!"

"The fuckwit has a point, toy guns are pretty cool."

I resist the urge to slap myself on the forehead as I roll my eyes at Naruto and Hidan's stupidity.

"But we're doing a romantic play! What would be the point of a toy gun?"

Hidan mumbles something incoherent to my ears and then Naruto and he begin cackling to themselves. I hate to say it, but the only mature one in this group right now is Kiba. The brunette is just watching me with attentive eyes. I really want to snap at him, but I'm trying **very **hard right now to be civil. It's just annoying that Kiba's better at being civil than I am. I'm glaring at him before I know it. _Oh for God's sake_. I shake my head a few times and then turn to look at Hidan and Naruto.

"Put the toy gun down, or I'll confiscate it." I growl.

Naruto immediately stops waving the stupid yellow and orange plastic toy in the air and hides it under his jacket, giving me a scared look. _I swear Naruto's personality gets __**more**__ childlike as he grows older_. I roll my eyes once again and then huff, placing my hands on my knees.

"Now then, we need to get to work on devising our script," I say importantly.

"Booooorrrinnngggg." Hidan announces through me.

I resist the strong urge -_very strong urge, __**extremely **__strong urge- _to punch him in his stupid pretty face and instead glower at him before continuing.

"What we decided yesterday was that there was going to be interwoven romance plots, right?"

Naruto stops examining his toy gun and nods enthusiastically at me. "Yeah! That was my idea! Believe it!"

"We believe it alright," Hidan comments dryly before reaching out a hand. "Lemme look at that gun."

"No!" Naruto holds the gun out of the older boy's reach, pouting at him. "It's mine!"

Hidan sits up straight and begins reaching for the toy. "I said gimme the gun you little shit!"

"No!" Screeches Naruto.

I breathe in deeply through my nostrils. _How on earth did I get lumped in with the most immature group of the lot? _I glance around the room and see that all the other groups have already started rehearsing. As I scan, my eyes come to rest on Kiba who, instead of joining in the fight over the gun as he usually would, is simply gazing at me. He smiles when my eyes meet his.

"Why aren't you involved in that?" I ask, my tone measured, nodding over at Naruto and Hidan. Hidan currently has Naruto pinned to the ground, while he tries, in vain, to grab the gun that Naruto has just shoved down his pants.

Kiba smiles widely at me. "I'm not **that **immature Ino, give me a break."

My heart clenches a little at his heart breaking smile, but then I turn away from him, my hair nearly whipping him in the face as I do so.

"No **fair**!"

I turn back around at Naruto's scream to see that, as soon as I'd turned away, Kiba had indeed become involved in the fight for the gun. He pauses once I turn around, holding the gun in his hand, a sheepish smile on his face. I give him a pointed look. But really…I don't **want **Kiba to stop acting immature, that's part of his personality, that's part of what makes him so hilarious. _I just don't want that anymore_. No matter how Kiba acts, mature or immature, I do not want to be with him and that is final. _Even if his lips do look like-_I shake my head suddenly and then get to my feet, placing my hands on my hips.

"Give me the gun." I hiss. "**Now**."

Naruto stares at me fearfully and Kiba hands over the gun slowly, also looking rather traumatised. I snatch the toy out of his hands and then stomp over to Mr. Gai.

"Mr. Gai."

The man looks up as I approach. "Yes Ino? Do you need some coaching in ways of dramatic fortitude!?"

I grit my teeth, but, remaining calm, say nothing as I hand him the gun. "Naruto, Hidan and Kiba are messing around with this stupid toy gun. I recommend you confiscate it for this lesson, or for the rest of forever, depending on how you feel."

"Ah," the teacher examines the gun and then nods at me importantly. "Yes, yes, good call Ino." He waves the gun at me.

I nod curtly at him and then return to my group. Naruto is now looking very despondent.

"Good move Ino-"

I put my hand up to silence Kiba and then glare round at them all. "Now, let's get working on the most beautiful and heart wrenching romantic script-" I point my finger in each of their faces in turn. "-**ever**."

* * *

"Yeah so I'm going to straighten them out, even if it means involving violence." The next subject is English and I am currently talking through the lesson to Sakura, who is only half listening due to the fact she's also got one ear on Mr. Hatake, who's droning on about something boring again.

I see Kiba wince and I grin. "Yes," I say, raising my voice even louder. "It's going to be viciou-"

"Ino,"

I yelp and jump as I hear Mr. Hatake's voice next to my ear. I'm never going to get over his ability to move around so quietly. I turn stiffly to look at him, dreading the punishment.

"Since you're clearly not interested in the lesson I'm teaching, maybe you'd like to do a job for me, hm?" He cocks his head and smiles at me.

I look at him unsurely for a few moments, until Deidara speaks up.

"Yeah sir, Ino loves doing jobs for teachers!" He calls.

My eyes widen and I turn to glare at him furiously. Mr. Hatake simply ignores him however as he continues, handing me some yellow pieces of paper as he does so.

"Here you are," he says. "These need to go to some specific teachers, the names are on the top of the sheets."

I examine the papers curiously. "What are these about?"

"Oh," Mr. Hatake waves his hand in the air in a carefree way. "Nothing important. Just teacher stuff. Now, off you go."

Fully aware I'm being booted out of the class because I'm a distraction, I steadily get to my feet. I smack Sakura on the head as I head down to the door. I open it and then exit the classroom into the silent hallway. _Now then_. I look down at the paper; the first name on the first piece of paper is Mr. E (i.e. Ebisu, which is what a lot of students, including Naruto, insist on calling him, despite his position as a teacher.) I hold in a groan. _Mr. E is such a weirdo _I gripe inwardly. But nonetheless I begin making my way to his classroom. I'm just about to head up the stairs when I see Suigetsu. He spots me about the same time I spot him; he raises a hand in acknowledgement.

"Yo!" He calls.

I move over to him. He's standing next to a huge guy that I don't know the name of.

"Hello." Greets huge ginger guy.

I nod sheepishly at him. "Hello," I reply, before looking to Suigetsu. "What's going on? Do you have a free?"

A sly grin makes its way onto Suigetsu's face and then he shrugs airily. "Yeah, yeah, something like that," he agrees. "What about you?" He glances down at the papers in my hands and then snatches them. "Trying to get on a teacher's good side maybe?" He wiggles his eyebrows at me as I shriek.

I grab the papers back and glower at him. _Now even Suigetsu knows about it? For God's sake who's spreading this stupid rumour? _I think back to Naruto shouting over the cafeteria to Sasuke and my eyes narrow. _That knucklehead is so gonna get it. _

"No, **actually**," I growl now at Suigetsu. "I've just been sent out of English because I was talking too loudly," I pinken slightly. "I think Mr. Hatake just wanted to get rid of me,"

Suigetsu starts laughing and I pout at him before moving away, heading back up the stairs. Without pause, Suigetsu and his big friend begin following me.

"What're you doing?" I snap at them.

"Helping." Big ginger dude supplies.

"Yeah," Suigetsu agrees, nodding. "Helping!"

There's a moment of silence as we ascend the stairs and then Suigetsu speaks again. "What're we helping you with anyway?"

I sigh, but I deign to answer. Having a little company on this journey isn't exactly a bad thing I guess.

"I've gotta deliver all these pieces of paper-" I flap the yellow pages in the air. "-to different teachers throughout the school."

"Ah, that's going to take forever!" Suigetsu moans immediately.

"You don't have to come!" I growl back.

"No, we should help you," ginger guy smiles at me. "And we may see Karin in one of the lessons."

"Wonderful." Suigetsu drawls sarcastically, glaring off to the side.

I smile at Suigetsu's friend. "Finally, a gentleman," I state. "What's your name by the way? I'm Ino."

"Juugo." Juugo supplies, smiling at me.

"Nice to meet cha." I say, smiling back.

Suigetsu rolls his eyes and suddenly produces a slush puppy from -as far as I can tell- nowhere. He begins sucking the straw nonchalantly as we trawl through a hallway. I scout out Mr. E's class, right at the end of the hall.

"There it is," I state, pointing ahead.

Suigetsu nods and then he and Juugo follow me to the door. After a few moments of quiet bickering, I eventually manage to make Suigetsu knock on the door. It's ripped open immediately by Mr. E, who glowers down at us.

"What are you doing out of class!?" He demands. "Are you skipping!?"

"Yea-"

I override Suigetsu, slapping my hand over his mouth as I do so. "No!" I assure the teacher before me sweetly. "Of course not," I retrieve my hand from over Suigetsu's mouth and then hand Mr. E his piece of paper. "Mr. Hatake requested I give you this."

"Hey Ebisu what's taking so long!?"

I look over Mr. E's shoulder to see Naruto slumped on the desk, looking bored. His expression changes however when he sees me. He sits up immediately, his face splitting into a happy grin.

"Hi Ino!" He calls enthusiastically.

Mr. E seems very perturbed by this attitude as he turns around quickly, glaring at the blond boy.

"You don't call me Ebisu you young rascal!" He yells. "I am Mr. E, ok!?"

Naruto gives him a dumb look. "Ebisu can I go to the toilet please?"

"No you cannot go to the toilet!" Mr. E promptly shuts the door on Suigetsu, Juugo and I, and the three of us are left standing outside, listening to the teacher rant at Naruto.

"Well, I guess that's the first teacher down." Juugo comments.

I go to agree only to be interrupted by the door nearly breaking down as Naruto slams it open.

"Ok, I'm going to the toilet Ebisu! See you later!" He calls over his shoulder.

Mr. E begins screaming blue bloody murder, while Naruto shuts the door on him. Naruto smiles widely at me.

"What're you doing?" He asks with interest.

"Is what you just did really ok?" I ask instead of answering his question, raising my eyebrows as I look over his shoulder at the door.

Naruto laughs. "Yeah, Ebisu will get over it!" He grins before grabbing my papers off me and beginning to walk away, reading them intently.

Suigetsu and Juugo shrug before following after him. I snarl.

"Give them back!" I yell, grabbing the papers of the idiot. I point my finger into his face. "And quit telling people I'm trying to get with teachers."

Naruto goes cross eyed looking at my finger and then grins awkwardly. "Sorry." He mutters.

I take a deep breath, shaking my head at him as I do so. "Now," I breathe. "Don't you think you should be going back to class?"

The door to Naruto's history class rips open just as I say this and Mr. E stands there, breathing heavily through his nostrils and glowering hard at Naruto. Naruto squints slightly at his teacher and then looks down at me.

"Nah." He replies and then takes off running.

Suigetsu, Juugo and I watch him for a few seconds and then begin running off after him. I cast a sheepish apologetic grin at Mr. E as we run off. The last thing we hear is the man screaming in rage. _Mr. E is such a weirdo._

* * *

It's only after around ten minutes of running that the boys and I discover where Naruto is heading. I let out a groan of anger as the blond rushes into a toilet. I come to a skidding stop outside the door.

"Naruto!" I shriek. "You're such a pest!"

"Why?" Naruto replies from inside the toilets. "I just need the loo!"

"This is Sasuke's other best friend?" Juugo murmurs.

Suigetsu shrugs. "No competition."

I roll my eyes at him, but then decide to take the breather to check the next teacher. It's Miss Yuhi. Ah, normality. _Still, at this rate I'm going to be doing this well into my next period, which is a __**free**__. _I shudder at the thought. Doing work during a free? It's inhuman. Only Sakura and Sasuke do stuff like that.

Naruto comes out of the toilets, wiping his hands on his trousers and smiling broadly at us all. "Where to next? Oh and I'm Naruto Uzumaki by the way!" He gives the thumbs up to Suigetsu and Juugo.

"Yes, your teacher was screaming your name quite loudly as we ran away," Juugo said. "I'm Juugo and this is Suigetsu."

Suigetsu holds up a hand in acknowledgement. Naruto's eyes narrow as he looks at the white haired boy.

"Yeah, I've heard about you. Sasuke talks about you all the time."

There's a moment of tense silence.

"Really?" Suigetsu sucks on his straw casually. "He's never mentioned yo-"

"LET'S NOT ARGUE ABOUT WHO'S BETTER FRIENDS WITH SASUKE PLEASE," I cut through him before he can finish his sentence. "And let's just get back to work."

Naruto and Suigetsu both fall silent but they glare at each other as they follow after me. Juugo follows along behind them, looking in between them both with a look of confusion. It takes a while, but eventually we get to the gym. I can hear Kurenai talking inside and so I head in, backed by my idiots and also Juugo.

"Oh," Kurenai turns away from her class as I enter the room. "Hello Ino. Do you need something?"

"I…" I trail off as my eyes scan the class and they fall upon perhaps one of the most beautiful boys I've ever seen in my life. He's quite pale with dark hair tied in a loose ponytail that floats down his back; his eyes are as black as his hair and inconceivably deep looking. Large black eyelashes frame these ebony orbs and his mouth is currently curved into a polite smile. I stop short.

"Hi Sasuke's older brother!" Naruto jumps out from behind me, waving enthusiastically at the pure unadulterated beauty before us.

_Sasuke's brother?_ I look from Naruto to the older boy and then immediately spot the resemblance, well damn. Kurenai looks a little put out by Naruto, Suigetsu and Juugo's presence. Her eyes become suspicious, while I simply gape at Sasuke's brother.

"Why are there so many of you?" She requests. "Surely it only takes one person to deliver a message?"

"Yeah, maybe." Suigetsu says, shrugging.

"What's going on here?"

I stiffen at the sound of a familiar voice and turn only to see Miss Senju, the head teacher, glowering at us all, her hands on her hips.

"Oh, hey Tsunade!" Naruto calls enthusiastically.

Suigetsu slaps his forehead, Juugo slumps and I wince. _Naruto, you knucklehead._

* * *

"I still can't believe you dropped us all in lunchtime detention," I hiss at Naruto as he and I make our way to the detention room. **Obviously **the head teacher didn't take too kindly to being referred to by her last name, and she'd slapped **all **of us with a detention. Including poor old me, despite the fact I was only doing my job. "You're such a bonehead sometimes."

"Hey, how was I supposed to know she'd get so angry?" Naruto replies, his hands behind his head as we weave through the students in the hall. "Who could've guessed she wouldn't like being called by her first name?"

"**Everyone**," I retort through gritted teeth. "**Everyone** could have guessed that."

Naruto shrugs and I punch him hard just as we arrive outside the detention room. I grimace. _I could be eating a muffin in the cafeteria right now _I gripe to myself before slowly pushing the door open. Afternoon detention is a lot quieter than afterschool detention, and only a few students are dotted around the room this time round. There is, however, one person who remains from the afterschool edition of detention.

"Oh hey flower power, get caught again?"

I blush immediately.

"Thanks for getting me this detention Naruto." I whisper to my friend as I look at Asuma, who's grinning at me from his desk.

"I, uh, you're welcome?"

* * *

_Thank you to moonlightclock, ghostsammeo and naru40 for your reviews. It means a lot! Also thank you to everyone who's got this story on follow and also thank you for favouriting this story! I hope you're enjoying it as much as I'm enjoying writing it!_


	7. Dancing Ino, Squirming Asuma

Different kind of Apple Polisher

* * *

_That counts as a compliment._

* * *

Chapter 7

**Dancing Ino, Squirming Asuma**

* * *

"Sooo," Asuma smiles at me as I lean down and sign the register, his eyebrows raised. "What did you do?"

I take my time signing my name, dotting the 'I' with a heart. "**I **didn't do anything," I reply. "It's this dingus here you should be looking at." I give Naruto an accusatory glare as I move back, allowing him to sign his name.

"Oh Naruto," Asuma shakes his head mournfully. "Have you dropped our poor delightful Ino in it?"

Naruto signs his name messily and then shrugs. "I still don't think I did anything wrong!" He announces before bounding off to a desk, whipping out his Gameboy as he does so.

Asuma and I watch him go and then Asuma looks at me. "What did he do?" He enquires.

I smile teasingly at him. "I think you should guess." I return.

Asuma's eyebrows rise. "You do know this is Naruto we're talking about right? There's a whole plethora of misdemeanours that he could have contributed to."

I giggle. "I know, but I think it'll be quite funny to watch you struggle. Plus you get a cute little scrunch between your brow when you get confused,"

So that was probably not the type of thing you're supposed to say to your teacher, but…I really do not care. Asuma gives me a slightly puzzled/slightly confused look. I point at his brow.

"That's the one."

He colours immediately and I grin down at him.

"So, uh," he coughs. "Naruto," he pauses for a moment, apparently recovers and then looks back up. "Let me guess…Did it involve Miss Senju?"

I gape at him. "How'd you know?"

Asuma chuckles. "I can tell you that literally fifty per cent of all Naruto's crimes are something to do with winding our illustrious Head Mistress up. What did he do?"

"He called her Tsunade to her face," I mutter. "Oh and he was skipping class." I add as an afterthought.

Asuma grins. "Skipping class with you?" He suggests.

"No!" I return indignantly. "I was actually doing a job for Mr. Hatake," I pause for a moment before speaking again. "I like doing jobs for teachers."

_Thank you Deidara_.

Asuma's eyebrows rise again. "Really?"

"Definitely."

Asuma smiles slightly but then he coughs again, drawing back. He lifts a pencil and sticks it in his mouth.

"Are you ever going to sit down flower power?"

I smirk at him and flip my long hair behind my shoulder before leaning onto the desk again. "Where would you like me to sit?"

"Working hard Ino?"

I turn at the sound of a familiar voice and my face drops as I see Hidan and Deidara enter the room, both of them grinning at me.

"As if," I grumble. "What do you two idiots want?"

"Hey boys," Asuma greets. "Come sign your name and then sit down."

Both Hidan and Deidara move over to sign their names and I draw back, glowering at them fiercely.

"What did you get caught for then?" I question. "Being huge jerks?"

Instead of answering me, Hidan looks up at Asuma and grins, throwing a thumb my way. "Watch this one Mr. Sarutobi, she's trouble."

"I have noticed." Asuma agrees while I stomp my foot.

Hidan nods at the teacher and then he and Deidara drift away, Hidan throwing a smirk my way. I mouth something about murdering him and then turn to look at Asuma, who's watching me with an unreadable expression.

"What?" I question.

"Do Hidan and Deidara bother you?" He asks, suddenly snapping into concerned teacher mode.

I flap my hand at him. "No, no," I reply. "They're just idiots is all."

Asuma and I look over at the pair to see they've stolen Naruto's Gameboy. Hidan punches at the buttons aggressively while Deidara holds back Naruto, laughing wildly.

"Hm." Asuma mutters.

"Are they in here often?" I enquire.

Asuma looks up at me and then smiles. "Not as often as you are-"

"Hey!"

"-but they're in here often enough that I know they probably threatened to punch a teacher or something."

I huff. "They're idiots." I repeat.

"No arguments here," Asuma replies. "And you're still standing up. Planning on sitting down at all this lunch time?"

At the thought of sitting down my stomach growls despondently. "I **should **be sitting down eating a muffin right now," I mutter, putting a hand on my tummy to soothe it. "But instead Naruto landed me in here."

"Seriously?" Asuma leans forward looking a little concerned. "You don't have lunch?"

I shrug. "No. Eh, it doesn't matter, it's not like I need the carbs anyway."

At this Asuma rolls his eyes. "Please don't tell me you're on a diet Ino."

I place my hands on my hips and shrug again. "And if I am?"

"I'll slap you with another detention for being so stupid," he replies quickly. "Why on earth would you think you needed to diet? You've got a great bod-"

My eyes widen. As do Asuma's. He flinches and then suddenly gets up, the chair nearly tipping over. He looks over my head, apparently intent on never looking me in the face ever again.

"Idate, look after the class while I just pop out will you?" He calls.

A boy with brown hair tied up into a ponytail raises his hand in acknowledgement. Asuma nods and then half sprints from the room, leaving us all alone. I stare after him. Did Asuma just say I have a great body? He did. Asuma just said I have a great body.

Immediately I begin preening.

"Oi!"

I turn and see that Hidan, Deidara, and Naruto are all gazing at me.

"What did you just say to him?" Hidan questioned. "He moved so fast I thought time had been sped up."

"That would be cool." Naruto comments.

Deidara and Hidan give him confused looks.

"What would be cool hm?" Deidara questions.

"If time speeded up." Naruto clarifies.

There's a moment of silence and then Deidara nods. "Yeah, that would be pretty cool un."

Hidan rolls his eyes at them and redirects his attention to me. "So?" He presses. "What did you do? Offer to drop to your knees? Flash him? What?"

I smirk at him. "As if I'm telling you anything."

"She flashed him." Hidan informs Deidara and Naruto.

I shriek. "I'm not a ho like you Hidan!" I roar. "I did not flash him!"

"Worried about me?"

Hidan and I look over to see Asuma has re-entered the room, holding a muffin in one hand and a bottle of water in the other.

"Yeah!" Naruto says. "We thought maybe Ino had hurt you or something."

Asuma laughs, but he keeps his eyes trained on me. "I wouldn't put it past her." He mutters before holding his hands out, offering the water and the muffin to me.

"What are these?" I question as I accept them.

"Wow." Hidan comments.

"Stop perpetuating the idea that blondes are dumb yeah!" Deidara calls aggressively.

Asuma smiles broadly at me. "You need to eat." He says.

As I realise what he's saying I shake my head. "Oh no. No Asuma I couldn't possibly accept-"

"Mr. Sarutobi," he corrects me. "And I want you to have them." his tone turns gentle.

I blush bright red and gaze at him. "I…I don't know where my money is…"

"You don't have to pay me back Ino," Asuma replies. "It's on me."

_I wish __**I **__was on you. _


	8. The Angel in the Hall

Different Kind of Apple Polisher

* * *

_Everyone's inappropriate._

* * *

Chapter 8

**The Angel in the Hall**

* * *

"Ok then…what about him?"

I giggle and then follow Asuma's finger to see who he's pointing at. It's a moody looking boy with black hair, curled up near the back of the detention room. We've been playing this game for a while now; Asuma will point out somebody in the room and I have to try and guess what they're in here for.

"He's got to be in here for attempted arson." I whisper.

Asuma nearly chokes on his coffee and then we both begin laughing wildly. I can't help but go a little pink, pleased that I've managed to make him laugh. Once he's recovered he shakes his head.

"You're a mad one Ino." He comments.

I go even pinker as I sense the fondness in his voice. However, just as I'm about to reply, the bell rings, signifying the end of lunch…and the end of my detention.

At the sound of the harsh ringing, everyone in the class gets to their feet, scraping the chairs back noisily. I stall, feeling disappointment immediately.

"There you go," Asuma grins at me. "Free to go."

"Can't I just stay?" I return watching as he puts a pencil between his lips and twiddles it around slightly. "Just give me an extended detention or something."

Asuma chuckles and then shakes his head. "No, I'm afraid I must resist that enticing offer flower power. Though it may not seem it, I **am **a teacher, and I have classes to teach."

I pout at him. "Yeah but-"

"Not buts blondie," Hidan suddenly swings up behind me and places his arm around my shoulders, smirking down at Asuma as he does so. "Leave the poor man in peace. I'll escort her out Mr. Sarutobi, don't you worry."

Asuma's brow creases a little and his eyes meet mine. "Try and keep out of trouble Ino."

I open my mouth, but Hidan overrides me. "Oh, we will. Say goodbye Ino!" Then he and Deidara sweep me out of the classroom, Naruto trailing along behind, moaning about his Gameboy.

Once we're out of the classroom I shake Hidan off and glower at him. He whistles and grins.

"Very forward there Yamanaka."

I point my finger into his face. "Shut it Hidan. You're so rude," I glance behind him and see that Deidara is holding Naruto's Gameboy. "Give Naruto back his toy."

"What's crawled up your butt hm?" Deidara mutters, but he relinquishes the Gameboy, handing it to Naruto who dives upon it eagerly and then begins wailing about save data or some bollocks like that.

I growl at Deidara, who shrinks back, and then shake my fist at Hidan who begins chuckling. I narrow my eyes and then look over at Naruto again.

"Naruto!" I grumble. "Come."

As the halls begin filling with students coming out for lunch, I begin leading Naruto towards the exit of the school. He and I have both finished for the day, so there's no point hanging around. Maybe if I wasn't in such a moody with Hidan and Deidara, I'd invite them to come with us, but I **am **in a moody with them. So…no.

I'm just thinking of violent ways to kill Hidan when I suddenly hit a body head on. I yelp and fall to the ground, unceremoniously landing on my butt.

"Ow!" I yelp while Naruto begins cackling away, though he hasn't looked away from his video game. _Little shit. _"What's the big-?" I go to snap at whoever's clumsiness has resulted in my bum bruise, but go quiet when I see Sasuke's older brother leaning down to help me up. "Big…uh…big…" I trail off and gawp at him as he extends a hand for me to take.

"I'm sorry," he murmurs, his voice deep and calm. "Are you hurt?"

I accept his hand and allow him to drag me up, all the while going pinker and pinker. It's only once I'm fully up on my feet that I realise he's awaiting my reply. I stare resolutely at the flickering light above his head as I reply.

"I'm f…fine," I manage. "Sorry for yelling at…you…um…"

Sasuke's older brother smiles at me and I swear I can hear angels singing.

"It's quite alright," he looks over at Naruto. "Hello Naruto."

Naruto glances up from his game and then smiles widely. "Hi Sasuke's older brother!" He chirps back, still punching at the buttons on his Gameboy.

Sasuke's older brother raises his eyebrows at this and then pulls slightly at the strap on his bag. "Naruto, I've told you a dozen times, you can call me Itachi."

"Yeah thanks Sasuke's older brother!" Naruto replies, now returning all his attention back to his game.

"Itachi." I repeat quietly and the God of Beauty looks down at me.

I look directly back at him and feel shivers run up and down my spine.

"Pleased to meet you," he says. "You're in Sasuke and Naruto's year I presume? Could I ask your name?"

"Hey hey hey!"

**Just **as I'm about to reply, stupid freaking Hidan comes back into the picture, tramping along with Deidara and Sasori. I tense and glower at him.

"Ino Yamanaka," Deidara coos in a teasing way once he and his friends arrive next to Itachi. "Trying to seduce yet **another **older gent?"

Itachi's perfect eyebrows rise again and he looks from Deidara to me. "So you're Ino," he murmurs. "Hidan, Sasori and Deidara talk about you an awful lot."

At these words, Hidan, Sasori and Deidara go red, while I grin and turn to look at them. "Do they now?" I return. "Oh boys, I didn't know you cared so much."

"We only talk about you because you do weird things every day." Sasori tries to defend.

I flip my hair back and place my hand on my hip, grinning. "Sure. Keep telling yourself that," I send a wink and an air kiss his way before looking back at Itachi. "I'm actually friends with Sasuke," I inform him. "And I'm best friends with Sakura, his girlfriend?"

Itachi looks back to me and smiles again. "Ah," he returns. "Well it's good to see that Sasuke's made friends with someone who can handle herself."

I smile at him. "Thanks," I cast a glare at Hidan, Deidara and Sasori who are all watching me converse as if they're at a circus or something. "It's a shame this sordid group have managed to get their claws into you."

Itachi looks over at his friends. "They can be an ok bunch…at times."

Itachi's friends begin fanning themselves, pretending to be enormously flattered by this compliment. I watch them with a quirked eyebrow.

"I swear to God, you guys act like you're 8 years old."

After I say this, Naruto suddenly lets out a yelp and falls to his knees. I turn to look at him, and Itachi, Hidan, Sasori and Deidara peer round me. Naruto looks up at us, eyes almost brimming with -honest to God- tears.

"I caught Mew Two." He murmurs.

I slap myself in the face, only to catch Itachi smiling at me in an amused manner.

Oh dear. There may be a plan formulating in my mind.


	9. Shikamaru in Distress

Different Kind of Apple Polisher

* * *

_Ino has many a plan._

* * *

Chapter 9

**Shikamaru in Distress: A New Plan Is Formed!**

* * *

"So, Sakura,"

Sakura side eyes me, her expression already judgemental as she prepares to assess the next words that come out of my mouth. Currently she and I are treading to the coffee shop, where we're going to meet some of the others. As the day has progressed, the temperature's gotten colder, and there's a fine mist settling onto the roads, which are littered with crunchy leaves. Straight after college, my best friend had called me up and told me off for getting **another **detention. I'd tried to argue that it wasn't strictly my fault, but she hadn't believed me. Sigh.

"Do you remember that movie we watched that one time?" I decide to continue on despite the nasty look she's giving me. "The one where that girl wants to make that guy fancy her, so she seduces that other guy-"

"Ino no." She interrupts quickly, already catching onto what I'm, maybe, perhaps, suggesting.

I turn to face her properly, plunging my hands into my deep purple pockets. "But **why**?" I complain back.

Sakura winces at my tone, but she casts me a stern look, her mouth hidden under a large fluffy scarf. "Because that's an **evil** thing to do, that's why," she raises her eyebrows. "And I presume this would be aiding you in your -stupid- efforts to achieve Mr. Sarutobi's affections? **Ino**."

The way she says my name sends shivers up my spine. How come my best friend can make me feel like a little kid being scolded?

"Uh, not stupid!" I retort. "He said I have a nice body today!" I grin as I watch Sakura react to this information.

Her eyes widen and she turns to look at me, her neck stiff. "He did not!" She returns, looking horrified. "He's not allowed to say stuff like that!"

I begin giggling and Sakura glances around, looking as if her world is crumbling around her.

"Ino! You're leading him astray!" She scolds.

"I'm not leading him anywhere," I reply. "Except to the realm of **luuurve**." I link arms with her and Sakura gives me a moody look, shaking me back and forth slightly as we turn onto a new street.

"From now on I'm going to just ignore how silly you're being about him. A **teacher**-"

"A smoking hot teacher." I interject quickly.

Sakura gifts me with a deadpan look before continuing, her boots crunching upon the leaves. "-What I **will** ask you however, is who on earth were you planning on being utterly evil to, with that plan?"

I wave my hand in the air. "I just wanted play around with Itachi Uchiha a little bit, maybe."

"Ino!" Sakura looks shocked now and she unlinks from me. "You're utterly evil!" Then a smirk forms on her lips. "But haha, the jokes on you because Itachi has a girlfriend."

I shrug and purse my lips nonchalantly. "Is she pretty?" I throw out.

Sakura nods importantly as I turn my head and look up at the sky.

"Very pretty." She answers.

"Prettier than me?" I side eye her and Sakura balks.

She's trapped now, because it's not like she can say some random girl is prettier than her own best friend. Best friendship law dictates that your best friend is the prettiest girl in the world, no matter what. But she doesn't want to tell me that I'm prettier than Itachi's girlfriend because then she reckons I'll still go after Itachi.

I tell you. This woman. She has on faith in me. _Hehe_.

We enter the coffee shop and Sakura mumbles something before looking over and spotting Sasuke, Shikamaru, Naruto and Choji sitting at our usual table.

"Hey guys!" She exclaims too loudly and then she stomps over to them, unwinding her scarf from her neck as she does so.

I follow her over and the pair of us squeeze in next to our friends.

"Where's Kiba?" Sakura asks once we're all settled, and I begin picking at Shikamaru's food.

Sasuke, Naruto and Choji share uncomfortable glances and I sigh. "Can we please stop with the **looks**? What's he doing? Not that I care."

"He's gone to meet a girl. Ow!" Shikamaru's usual drawl peters off into his yelp of pain, and he casts Naruto an angry look.

"**Shikamaru**," Naruto growls. "Kiba wouldn't want Ino to know that."

"Ino is sitting right here," I retort, crossing my arms after stuffing a bit of Shikamaru's muffin into my mouth, much to his chagrin. "And it's not like I care what that stupid little playboy gets up to." _Even if he does still make me heart beat a little faster. _

"Who's he meeting?" Sakura asks with interest.

Naruto gives his friend a strained look and Sakura goes quiet. So Kiba's meeting up with his snoggy snoggy boom boom friend. I grit my teeth and clench my fists. If I don't get myself a man soon I'm going to explode. How dare Kiba be quicker than me?

Thankfully for Naruto, Sakura decides to change the subject, aware that the current one is both upsetting for me, and stressful for Naruto.

"So, what's everyone doing tomorrow night? I was thinking you could all come to mine? My parents are out of town."

"Sounds good!" Naruto cheers, grinning wildly.

I nod along. A night getting drunk at my best friend's house does sound inviting, that is until Choji opens his mouth.

"Ah, I wish I could, but I've got to work tomorrow night," the chubby boy turns to look at Shikamaru. "And you can't go out cuz Mr. Sarutobi's coming round right?"

My eyes widen and the whole table goes tense.

"What's this?" I interlock my fingers and gaze over them at my best friend, who is now looking distinctly uncomfortable. "Are you moving in on my man Shikamaru?"

Shikamaru pulls a face. "No," he returns. "My dad's good friends with him, that's all."

_Now __**this **__is interesting information. _"Why didn't you tell me this before?" I demand, while Choji winces and draws back slightly.

Shikamaru groans. "Because I didn't want you to know." He shoots back.

"Why didn't you want me to know?"

"Why do you think?"

"That's so unfair Shikamaru!"

"No it's not. What a drag."

"Well then it's settled," I suddenly smile brilliantly at the boy, cocking my head. "Shikamaru, I need to come to your house tomorrow night to do some homework."

"Ino no." The whole table says.

I roll my eyes. _Ino yes. _


End file.
